Bench
4 singles x 250 lb
15 sec rest
failed on the 5th
bench grip rows
5 sets x 10 reps x 165 lb
RFESS
15,10 x BW +25 lb
Barbell Curls
4 sets x 4 reps x 75 lb
10 x 45 lb
Found some time to get a workout in. It didn’t go well. I failed on the fifth rep. My wife hit all of hers though, which was cool. Next week is AMRAP at 250 lb to see how I have progressed and then I will decide what to do from there. If I get at least 6 reps with it, I think I may run the cycle again if not, then I will screw around till I start a new cycle of 531 and just do that.
Deadlift
5 x 185 lb
5 x 215 lb
5 x 245 lb
5 sets x 10 reps x 185 lb
Realized my bracing is a bit trash on deadlifts and I tried to work on it this time. I also noticed that I have a tendency to lower the bar further away from my body when the reps get higher. Both are something I am going to watch put for in the future. Going to try to fit in pushups and face pulls before bedtime.
Edit:
Superset
Pushups
5x20
Face pulls
5 x 20
My shoulders are never going to get used to these.
For the sets of 10, yes. I still find I have this problem if I do dead stop, but maybe not as much though. It is pretty much every rep after the first either way is just off.
Squat
5 x 210 lb
5 x 245 lb
5 x 275 lb
5 sets x 10 reps x 210 lb
Superset
Pullups
5 sets x 5 reps x BW
with
Pushups
5 sets x 20 reps
Got a third workout in this week. Probably will get the fourth tomorrow. Will have to play next week by ear since it is finals. Should be able to get four though. Squats were weird since it has been a week and a half since doing them. Got all the reps though. Pullups and pushups were tough.
Just some things to look back on later. I can’t really say how well bbb beefcake is going yet, but I do have some idea of what I would want to change. I am leaning more towards having the pushups and pullups on upper body days instead of lower body days so that there is more time for recovery and the days aren’t performed back to back. Same with the single leg work. Also, I think that doing two days of pulls back to back is a little taxing, so I would probably drop one of the horizontal pulls and just do one vertical pull on ohp day and a horizontal pull on bench day. Wouldn’t exactly be doing the program anymore, but I think the impact would be a positive one. Other than those things, I like the program. It is tough, but enjoyable.
I’m surprised you find two days of pulls back to back taxing. Generally the upper and middle back is something you can train four days a week with absolutely no issues.
I would also recommend against changing the program around in the hope that it will be improved. What you are suggesting will probably reduce the effectiveness rather than improve it. If you find recovery to be an issue, eat and sleep more.
Not sure if it is an issue really, but I haven’t progressed much on rows (10 lb in 5 weeks) and my pullups have gotten weaker. Fatigue I guess, but I was progressing a lot faster and not getting as fatigued off of 2 pulls a week which is what I was doing.
In regards to eating and sleeping more, I really can’t sleep any more than I do. I get nine hours a night with a CPAP and that is about my limit from kids and responsibilities. May be able to add in an extra 30 min if I feel I really need it but it is kind of a trade off at this point since that time is usually spent with my wife. As for eating, I have been eating enough to steadily be gaining weight, about 4 lb over the last 6 weeks, so I would think that would be good too and in all honesty would not like to increase the rate of weight gain.
That clarifies things. You don’t need to even be thinking about any of that. Assistance isn’t something you’ll ever need to progress. You just do it, and it works. Whether you progress it or not in the short term won’t have an impact on it working.
If you’ve added weight, pullups will probably be harder for a while.
So you’re not really having recovery issues, like you suspect you’re just fatigued. No need to change anything.
Well to be honest though rows and pullups are something I want to progress not just for the sake of the big 3 but just for their own sake. So I’m kinda bummed that I am not seeing progress there.
That’s something you’ll have to find a way to factor in then. Over time they will improve, for sure. You won’t need to progress them in training really either - well, the rows at least. They’ll go up as long as you keep doing them, especially if you focus on doing them strictly.
Pullups are hard. They take years and years and YEARS to be something you get good at, and the heavier you are the harder they get. Most big guys who are good at pullups as far as I’m aware were always reasonably lean and have been doing pullups since they weren’t big. You’ll get better at them if you keep doing them, but at the same time the more weight you put on the harder they will get. The rate of improvement at pullups is a tiny fraction of the the rate at how much harder they get when you add mass.
Exactly. Both rows and pullups require extra muscle to improve significantly. This takes time to build. If you keep doing them, you’ll eventually get better. As you’re already aware, fatigue will also play a role, so what you can or can’t do on a given day or week won’t necessarily be indicative of a lack of progress.
Bench grip rows
4 sets x 10 reps x 165 lb
16 x 165 lb
RFESS
15 x 25 +BW
10 x 25 +BW
A little disappointed with how today went. Still a large pr. 6 reps with a weight 5 lb under my 3rm from around a month ago, so that’s really good progress to me. Decided to go for broke on the last set of rows. Turns out I have more in me on these than I think. Like always, I am really bad at guessing how close I am to failure.